The present invention relates generally to the field of online transactions, and more particularly to securing the integrity of online transactions using out of band communication.
In cryptography and computer security, a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack is an attack where the attacker secretly relays, and possibly alters, the communication between two parties who believe they are directly communicating with each other. One example is active eavesdropping, in which the attacker makes independent connections with the victims and relays messages between them to make them believe they are talking directly to each other over a private connection, when in fact the entire conversation is controlled by the attacker.
Quick Response (QR) Codes are a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode). A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that contains information about the item to which it is attached. A QR code uses four standardized encoding modes (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, and kanji) to efficiently store data; extensions may also be used. The QR Code system has become popular due to its fast readability and greater storage capacity compared to standard Universal Product Code (UPC) barcodes. Applications include product tracking, item identification, time tracking, document management, and general marketing. A QR code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read by an imaging device (such as a camera) and processed using Reed-Solomon error correction until the image can be appropriately interpreted. The required data are then extracted from patterns present in both horizontal and vertical components of the image.